What was this essay that explained the economically bleak US via movies?
April 12, 2022 8:30 PM   Subscribe

Years ago, I read a lengthy essay that used the Hunger Games/dystopian films to explain someone in an economically depressed area would vote for Trump. I CAN'T FIND IT AND AM GOING CRAZY.

Years ago, I read a lengthy essay on a site like Vox (Vulture, Vice, Buzzfeed, et al.) that actually made me understand and empathize with why people would vote for Trump or the Republicans. The premise was that Middle America was like the poor districts in the Hunger Games, forced to watch citizens in the Capital argue—liberal/blue state elites—and felt totally disenfranchised.

Its focus on those dystopian films did a surprisingly good job depicting the bleakness of an economically depressed area, one not regularly covered in mainstream media. My Google-fu is failing me, and it's not this essay. It was much longer.

I thought it was called "6 movies that explain...", but apparently that's not it and now I'm going crazy. Is this ringing any bells?
posted by blazingunicorn to Society & Culture (6 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Here you go!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:01 PM on April 12, 2022 [11 favorites]


Probably the Cracked article above but if not perhaps this?
posted by Candleman at 9:40 PM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]


As someone who grew up in coal country, then moved to Ann Arbor as a young adult, this article resonated much more with me than, say, Hillbilly Elegy.
posted by hessie at 7:33 AM on April 13, 2022


See also Michael Atkinson writing for Rolling Stone, Sean Mulvihill for rogerebert.com, John Beasdale for The Guardian, etc.
posted by box at 8:15 AM on April 13, 2022


You may also be interested in the documentary, Tickled, which ostensibly is about "competitive endurance tickling" but ends up being about a lot more including the economically bleak futures of people living in many parts of America.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:12 AM on April 13, 2022


Response by poster: chesty_a_arthur, thank you so much!!!! It’s also mentioned in the first result for “why the media didn’t predict Trump.” All of those essays using movies to explain social trends, and the other things to look at, are also very interesting and much appreciated!!
posted by blazingunicorn at 9:26 PM on April 13, 2022


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